So the new Marc Jacobs handbag collection for Fall 2009 has hit the web, and my reaction is…confusion. Here’s one of the styles, at left: The “Stardust Rock Bag” features quilted black leather and gold studs with a prominent zippered pocket and a gold chain strap. (For the most part, the other bags all seem to be variations on this basic style, in different shapes and a variety of colors.) My mind immediately flew to Chanel. How is this not a riff on the classic Chanel handbag?! Same quilted leather, same chain strap, same gold hardware; save for the interlocking C’s on the Chanel bag and a few Marc Jacobs-ish accents (like the zipper), these are practically identical, right? And to top it all off, the Marc Jacobs bag shown here retails for a cool $995 - ouch! I can’t imagine spending over a thousand bucks on what basically amounts to a high-end Chanel knockoff, no matter what your income bracket may be. What am I missing here? Clue me in!

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